Archive for month: June, 2016

Hello Folks, it’s been a while, since I took to blogging my thoughts. Dubai is one of the places I love to frequent, both as a traveler and as an investor. While experiencing Dubai is a mesmerizing trip in itself, getting a hang of its flourishing start-up environment is an altogether unique and refreshing experience for me as an investor.

The last time I was here, I gathered all the info I could and posted it in this article.

However, I couldn’t help but notice some major updates this time. I have been moving around, talking to local startups and investors and getting to know the startup scene in UAE especially up close. I am really impressed with a few local startups I have been following closely from last year.

The first one is https://twitter.com/wa9faat co-founded by a friend and an amazing technoprenuer Ahmed AbuSaad https://twitter.com/aabusaad1 – who is getting ready to launch his first startup in the MENA region – I won’t steal his thunder but for the folks in Dubai/MENA reading this please sign up and support Ahmed, you will be surprised J

The UAE govt. has been very supportive with providing infrastructure, flexi offices, micro loans and kudos goes to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum https://twitter.com/HHShkMohd vision in moving the region to a post oil economy and encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Startup scene in the MENA region, especially Dubai continues to be bullish across major sectors like e-commerce, healthcare, transportation and real estate.

Let’s look at the Major updates in the Dubai Startup Scene in the last 6 months

Based on a research conducted by Wealth Monitor, there is a consistent 15% growth in the total value of early-stage equity investments. It amounted to USD 30 Million in Dubai alone.

UAE stands at the top when it comes to investor attention. Other regions like Qatar and Oman have yet to see their fare share but most investors from US and Europe are instantly attracted to Dubai.

The Basic Stats:

Source: http://bit.ly/1tI5FMV

With Online retail being the most successful sector based on numerous forms of research and projections which clearly peg the revenues above USD 15 Billion in 2016. Most of the startups are active and operational under this sector.

Surprisingly, there is a sharp rise in startups offering core enterprise software both desktop and based on cloud solutions. E-commerce investments have also seen an upswing with some new entrants. We will look at them below.

The market for such kind of business frameworks is bound to rise as more Internet-based startups find the need for robust enterprise platforms to make their operations more effective and traceable.

Sector-wise break-up

Source: http://bit.ly/1tI5FMV

The following charts cover the major changes in the investment scene for MENA Startups in the last 6 months

Source: http://bit.ly/1tI5FMV

Let’s look at some startups that have risen in valuation in the past six months based on funding and operational revenues

Source: http://bit.ly/1tI5FMV

E-commerce has seen some major spikes with a new entrant Jugaad raising a significant amount and The Luxury Closet entering further rounds with higher and profitable valuations.

1. Jugaad

Investment Raised: USD 100,000

Date: December 29, 2015

Investors: Unknown

Jugaad is an app aggregator where you can avail all kinds of core services on the same platform. Think of any thing you want and Jugaad has it. From food and grocery delivery to on call drivers and household help, it provides a one-stop platform to access all such services.

2. The Luxury Closet

Designer fashion has Dubai on the roll as the demand for designer products on the online front keeps soaring. The Luxury Closet caters to the elitist market and has thus driven its sales so far by dealing in exclusive brand wear and accessories.

Wamda Capital that funded the company with USD 2.2 Million earlier this year noticed the rising tide and made sure it had a stake in it.

There has also been some movement on the B2B Front. Brndstr has risen in the enterprise software segment and roped in new investments.

3. Brndstr

Talk about real-time marketing and the name Brndstr is already making waves across nations. This Dubai based startup founded by former Trump Towers executive Simon Hudson who has a keen interest in the Dubai startup scene and has been heavily active.

The company helps brands create campaigns that are based on in-the-moment real time events and timeframes. It allows brands to engage with their audience and fans using innovative solutions with genuine API technology. As an enterprise software solution company, Brndstr is using software powered by the cloud to amplify its reached and had consistently been backed by Funsho Investments.

“Just as China has its own local giants like Alibaba, MENA will start to breed its own equivalents of Western successes in earnest over the next few years. The appropriately named Souq.com is just one company that has that potential. Like Asian markets, the Middle East largely skipped the first generation of e-commerce and has jumped straight to mobile. Saudi Arabia is home to some of the world’s most voracious consumers of YouTube content.”

-Mic Wright, The Next Web

4. Artscoops

A niche fine-art based e-commerce platform, Artscoops has raised investment to cater to the business of fine arts creating an online auction feature, a mobile application, a design platform. Considering the uniqueness of the business model and the target customer base, bullish figures can be expected from this enterprise in the time to come.

I will have to say that the E-commerce sector has to be taken very seriously as an impending opportunity in the MENA region. Valuations have risen sharply in the past year. Seasoned platforms like Souq.com have raised funding in excess of USD 200 Million and new entrants like Wadi.com have raised spectacular seed stage funding.

5. Souq.com

Known as amazon of the Middle East, Souq.com is a seasoned player, which has entered into the big league with its recent round of funding

However, performing sectors are consistently inviting new players as incubators, accelerators and investors who are taking a keen interest in the entire MENA startup landscape

One cannot deny that the startup landscape in the entire MENA region continues to rise. With established startups entering higher stages of growth and investment and a number of potential seed stage businesses on the rise, the projections do look promising. However, I would like to see more Fintech in the region and also some innovation across the dormant sectors.

“Dubai is an entry point to the fast-developing markets of Asia, the Middle East and Africa. These are markets growing at double the rates of the developed world, and the hub for accessing these markets is Dubai”

– Mustafa Abdel-Wadood,

Chairman of the Management executive committee, Abraaj Group

To conclude, I will point towards an observation of mine. After interacting with numerous startups & investors in Dubai, Ras-Al-Khaima, Abu Dhabi one can clearly notice a variable, which is driving such growth. This ecosystem although still maturing is currently driven by growth and profitability rather than valuations and scalability, which is more than what I can say for other ecosystems. I guess, that is the underlying USP all startup ecosystems should aim at. What do you think? Please let me know @blackstonevg